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The Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria, also called Monastery of Batalha is arguably one of the most beautiful works of Portuguese and European architecture.
This exceptional architectural ensemble resulted from the fulfillment of a promise made by King João I in gratitude for the victory in Aljubarrota, a battle fought on August 14, 1385, which secured the throne and guaranteed the independence of Portugal.
The works lasted for more than 150 years, through various stages of construction. This duration justifies the existence, in their artistic proposals, of gothic (predominant) Manueline solutions and a brief Renaissance note. Several additions were introduced in the initial design, resulting in a vast monastic ensemble that currently features a church, two cloisters with attached outbuildings and two royal pantheons, the Founder's Chapel and the Imperfect Chapels.
D. João I donated it to the order of S. Domingos, a donation to which the good offices of Doctor João das Regras, chancellor of the kingdom, and of Brother Lourenço Lampreia, confessor of the monarch, were no stranger.
In the possession of the Dominicans until the extinction of the religious orders in 1834, the monument was later incorporated into the Public Treasury, being today in the dependence of the IGESPAR, assuming itself as a cultural, tourist and devotional space.
National Monument, it is part of the World Heritage List defined by UNESCO since 1983.